Life in a Sex-Saturated World

We have been redeemed through the blood of Jesus and by His life given for us.  As we identify with what He did for us, we release the resurrection power in and through our lives.  1st Corinthians chapter 6 says:
17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

We are reminded that the life to which God has called us and the values that we hold are vastly different than those who embrace the principles of this world.  We are called to purity, but the world is steeped in impurity.  That is why we have to carefully navigate, by the power and wisdom of the Spirit, how to navigate as citizens of heaven through the world in which we live.  We recognize that we are to be distinctive people, holding up a higher standard than the standards the world would set for us.

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In 1st Thessalonians 4, Scripture lays out for us how we are to walk in purity before God:
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.
7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

By now, there has been plenty of discussion about two seminal events in the Presidential race - the 2005 tape of Donald Trump making lewd and unacceptable comments about women and the debate performance, in which he attempted to pivot from those words, even highlighting the behavior of his opponent's husband.  He has even issued an apology for the words which were spoken.

There has been attempt by Mr. Trump to dismiss this situation over a decade-old tape as just "locker room" conversation.  Honestly, when you look and/or listen to some of the comments of the demeanor of the candidate, this tape confirms behavior that is consistent with his personality.  As Mrs. Clinton pointed out, this is who he is.

Donald Trump's obnoxious comments represent a value system that he has held to for a majority of his adult life, but it's a system that is quite common in this world.  You have men who demonstrate a horrendous desire to view women as objects, but there are women use their appearance and action to lure or tantalize men.

We are in the midst of a sexual revolution, where we as a culture have developed an insensitivity to matters dealing with sexuality.  It is played out on television and movie screens, in books and pop music.  We are saturated with it.  And, we are reminded that Christians are called to be distinctive.

Perhaps you heard my conversation with Dr. Jim Denison the other day.  He has written the book, 7 Critical Issues.  As we talked, it occurred to me that five out of the seven issues deal in some way with a perversion of God's plan for sexuality - abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, transgender bathrooms, and even religious freedom - all are representative of the harmful effects of the sexual revolution and the erosion of God's truth.  People of faith are routinely called out and ostracized because they hold to ethics that are contrary to what we find in the world.  The night before, John Stonestreet had referred to the by-products of the sexual revolution, where sex, marriage, and babies had been separated, leading to the rampant growth of these deviant ideas.

We recognize our obligation in the culture to speak about issues concerning purity, and that brings us back around to policy and our choice in the upcoming election.  Truth is, we as Christians should be outraged at Donald Trump's comments and the attitude that he has projected.  

But we are in this world, and we are called to elect leaders, some of whom may hold to a value system that differs from our own.  And, we grapple with what to do when there are two unacceptable candidates from which to choose.

I understand the dilemma that many are facing: evangelicals for Trump believe he best aligns with Biblical values, and recognize that he is a flawed individual, just like we all are.  Evangelicals against Trump believe that his value system is so much different than ours that they cannot in good conscience support him.  But, they will not support Clinton, either, due to her track record supporting abortion-on-demand, same-sex marriage, and other issues.  Plus, truthfulness could be a hindrance to supporting either person.

But, are the latest revelations on Trump a deal-breaker?

Franklin Graham is not endorsing a candidate, but he offered these comments on Facebook:

The crude comments made by Donald J. Trump more than 11 years ago cannot be defended. But the godless progressive agenda of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton likewise cannot be defended. I am not endorsing any candidates in this election. I have said it throughout this presidential campaign, and I will say it again—both candidates are flawed. The only hope for the United States is God. Our nation’s many sins have permeated our society, leading us to where we are today. But as Christians we can’t back down from our responsibility to remain engaged in the politics of our nation...

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, who has endorsed Trump, said, in a Facebook post:

As a husband and father of three daughters, I find Donald Trump's behavior deeply offensive and degrading. As I have made clear, my support for him in the general election was never based upon shared values, rather it was built upon shared concerns. These concerns include the damage the Supreme Court would continue to do to this country through the appointment of activist justices, concerns over the security of our nation because of our government's refusal to confront the growing threat of Islamic terrorism, and concerns over the prospects of continued attacks by our own government upon religious freedom.

Perkins said he refused to find "sanctuary on the sidelines."

Theologian Wayne Grudem of Phoenix Seminary, who had written a piece in favor of Trump is now reconsidering his position.  He wrote at Townhall.com:

There is no morally good presidential candidate in this election. I previously called Donald Trump a “good candidate with flaws” and a “flawed candidate” but I now regret that I did not more strongly condemn his moral character. I cannot commend Trump’s moral character, and I strongly urge him to withdraw from the election.

He also said that he would not vote for Clinton and hoped Trump would withdraw.

Ed Stetzer published some comments from one of the members of Mr. Trump's religious advisory council in a piece on the Christianity Today website.  James MacDonald wrote:

Mr. Trump's comments released yesterday—though 10 years ago (he was 60)—are not just sophomoric or locker room banter. They are truly the kind of misogynistic trash that reveals a man to be lecherous and worthless—not the guy who gets politely ignored, but the guy who gets a punch in the head from worthy men who hear him talk that way about women.

He continued:

If Mr. Trump isn’t seeking our counsel now— 1) to be repentant 2) on how to portray that repentance, then the idea of a faith council (which has deteriorated into influence brokering anyway) is really kind of a joke right? I have spent my life helping men get free from such disgusting commentary on women—even writing my doctoral dissertation on self-disclosure of sin among men. I cannot and will not offer help to a man who believes this kind of talk a minor error.

And, there is a report from Yahoo! News quoting Ben Carson, who said that Trump prayed with Christian leader James Robison prior to Sunday night's debate, and his prayers included asking for forgiveness.

But, the list of Republican office-holders and others affiliated with the party who have said they will either no longer endorse or not vote for Trump has grown over the past few days.

So, what shall we do?  Well, you could vote for no one or an alternative candidate.  That is a perfectly legitimate course of action for those who still desire to participate but are not comfortable in voting for either of the major-party candidates.  And, remember, down ballot races are very important, as Stonestreet discussed the other night.

We've covered policy and purity, but I want to discuss something else that concerns me, and that is the lack of civility during the entire episode - among Christians.

I am troubled by the negative comments on social media from one set of evangelicals - those who don't support Trump - toward those that do, and vice versa.  To question one's spirituality or commitment to Christ because of his or her views on political matters is toxic to the cause of Christianity.  Legitimate discussion is healthy, but potshots at other Christians that come across as holier-than-thou potshots are not. Respectful disagreement should be our goal and set our tone. I believe that applies not only to this situation, but in our use of social media in general.  Divisiveness will render Christians ineffective, and the wedges that the enemy has used through this election process has turned Christians on one another.  We have to be careful that disagreement does not turn into deep division and diminish our effect for the gospel on our culture.  

We need to pray for our culture, for the decisions we as Christians will make, for the candidates in the Presidential race and others running for office.  And, remember that on November 9, no matter who wins, God will still be on the throne and He will equip us to live in this culture to be effective witnesses for Him.